David Dietz is a longtime Colts fan and contributing writer to the excellent Indy blog Stampede Blue. He tackles all the burning questions on the Colts.

Dallas Clark is done for the season, Joseph Addai and Donald Brown are both banged up, and Pierre Garson and Austin Collie aren’t practicing. We know Peyton Manning doesn’t care who he’s throwing or handing off to, but are the injury concerns on offense something Colts fans should be worried about?

What team wouldn’t be at least somewhat nervous going into a huge divisional game without their starting running back, tight end and No. 2 wide receiver? Dallas Clark is one of, if not the best, tight ends in the league. His presence forces defenses to adjust their schemes.

Same with Collie. He is among the league leaders in yards and touchdowns this season for a reason: defenses can’t seem to figure out whether to put an extra DB on him or shadow him with a linebacker. Plus defenses are already overwhelmed trying to contain Reggie Wayne, which allows Collie to roam free and put up monstrous numbers.

Finally you can’t underestimate the absence of Joesph Addai. While Addai may not have the best statistics or YPC average, he’s smart, comfortable with the offensive schemes and he is a great blocker.

So yeah, without those three guys Colts fans are nervous. Really nervous. But we aren’t panicking just yet. We have the best quarterback in the league. Manning is like a great tailor; he makes everyone look better.

The Colts can’t stop the run and the Texans have one of the league’s best rushing attacks. How does Indy avoid another monster game from Houston RB Arian Foster?

The Colts have to tackle better. They’ve played better in recent weeks, but against the Redskins they missed far too many easy tackles. That’s been their biggest weakness and, until they can sort out some of the fundamentals, they will struggle stopping the run, especially against bigger backs like Arian Foster.

Still, there is no way Foster has another 200+ yard game. Not even close.

In Week 1 the Colts let the Texans dictate how the game was played. Not this time. Even without the guys mentioned above, the Colts are going to push the pace and make the Texans play to their speed, forcing them to throw more and run less.

Which matchup do you see the Colts exploiting against the Texans?

Peyton is without several key weapons so the Colts won’t able to win one-on-one matchups based on talent alone as they have in the past. Instead, look for the Colts to accelerate the pace by employing ‘the stampede’ (similar to the ‘blur’ offense run at The University of Oregon) in order to confuse and take advantage of a very weak and inexperienced Texan secondary, which ranks last in the league in past coverage.

Final score prediction: Colts 34, Texans 20.

Texans Breakdown

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Went 7-2-1 on CFB picks last week. Only Northern Ill. and Georgia cost me. To night between Colts and Texans. Not an that good at picking Pro but, all sign point to this game being a shootout, Last ten meetings between these two have been Over 9 out 10 games. I say the trend continue
Colts 34
Texans 28

With playoff implications on the line, expect tight, low-scoring game between these two teams with hot goaltenders...

My free play is on Florida/Boston Under at 7:00 ET.

Boston has rebounded from a six-game losing streak by winning two games in a row after its 2-1 win in Carolina on Sunday. The Bruins return home where the Bruins are holding their opponents to only 2.3 goals per game which is a bit better than their 2.6 goals per game that they are giving up overall this season. Much of this improved play keeping the puck out of the net needs to be credited to goaltender Tuukka Rask who has been outstanding in front of his home fans this season. Rask owns a strong 2.04 goals against average along with a sizzling .930 save percentage when at home. The Bruins are clinging to the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt three points ahead of Ottawa and four points ahead of this Panthers team so the stakes remain very high for this veteran team. Rask may very well be playing his better goaltending at this point of the season as well. In his previous 12 starts this month, Rask has a 2.15 goals against average along with a .932 save percentage.

Florida has won four of its last six games as the Panthers make a late push to make the playoffs with their 4-2 win in Ottawa on Sunday. The Panthers stay on the road for this contest where they have seen the under go 7-3-3 in their last 13 contests away from home. The under is also 9-2-1 in their last 12 trips to Boston to face their Atlantic Division rivals. Florida's improved play as of late has much to do with the team’s improved play on defense as Florida is allowing only 2.2 goals per game over the last five games which is a significant improvement over its 2.7 goals per game seasonal average. Goaltender Roberto Luongo shook off a slow start this season to be the goalie the Panthers were hoping he would be when acquiring him in the offseason. Luongo has a 2.33 goals against average along with a .921 save percentage this year. Luongo has also heated up for Florida's playoff chase late this season as he owns a red hot 1.79 goals against average along with a .932 save percentage in his six starts this month. With playoff implications on the line, expect tight, low-scoring game between these two teams with hot goaltenders. Take the under.

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